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So, what are BUSH & VINE tomato plants???:

There are two basic shapes of tomato plant, and you grow them differently.

Bush Tomatoes
 
Vine Tomatoes

 

Bushy plants to 3 or 4 feet high

Side-shoots bear flowers & fruit quickly
(so don't grow very long)

May still need a stake or two

Don't need 'pinching -out'

 

 

Very lanky plants to 6 or 8 feet high

Side-shoots don't flower soon
(thus grow long)

Need tall stake or string

Side-shoots must be 'pinched-out' to
concentrate growth into one upright fruiting stalk.

 

Of course, there are in-between types that need some support but not side-shoot removal.

Bear in mind that all tomato plants grow taller and thinner indoors. Outside, the wind makes them grow shorter and bushier.

But don't despair. Its simpler than it sounds - you just need an experienced gardener to show you how!

Back to TOMATO SEEDS

Which of your tomatoes are for growing outdoors?

The answer is, 'it depends'. There are no 'outdoors tomatoes' and 'indoors tomatoes' for all gardens across the UK.

Tomatoes need warmth and sun to ripen, so in a cooler area you either need a greenhouse or early varieties bred to ripen quickly with less sun

The other main problem for outdoors tomatoes is blight. This is a fungal infection that takes hold in warm damp conditions. So in
milder warmer but wetter parts of the UK, early varieties are also the best choice to get a crop ripe before it strikes.

In the south east of England, East Anglia, and warmer parts of the English midlands, most of our small and medium sized tomatoes
will do just fine outdoors if you have a sunny sheltered spot.

Elsewhere, we recommend the early bush varieties, or the smaller vine types marked as EARLY.

And just a note, early tomatoes fruit more quickly - you don't need to sow them earlier.
For tomatoes to grow on outside, we'd recommend starting in late March or early April.

 

plant picture